


Collateral Damage

by JaiMcC123



Category: Sam and Colby, Traphouse - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29607438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaiMcC123/pseuds/JaiMcC123
Summary: Collateral damage is unintentional or accidental damage to people or things that happens as a result of an action or event. They were damages that happened due to the action of a person or an event, but were not meant to happen. This time, that person, was Colby Brock.
Kudos: 1





	1. The Game

“Hey guys, we should do an escape room,” said Colby.

“That sounds like fun,” replied Jake.

“I’m in,” answered Corey.

“I’m sure there are tons around LA, I’ll do some research, find a good one,” said Sam.

“I actually already found one,” said Colby. He pulls out his phone to show Sam the place.

“Uhhh no way,” said Sam. “We’re doing an actual escape room, not some house out in the middle of the woods. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

“We’re explorers Sam, we’ve seen worse,” explained Colby, “and they just do that to make it seem scary. I already called the place, the girl seems chill.”

“Yea, but every girl seems chill to you,” laughed Jake.

“Ha ha, very funny,” replied Colby sarcastically. “C’mon Sam, what’s the worst that could happen, you go running scared like a little girl?”

“Screw you Colby,” Sam replied as the others laughed. 

“Look, I’m booking it for 7 o’clock tomorrow,” said Colby. “If you don’t wanna come, you don’t have to, but we’re going.”

“Are you kidding, I’m the smartest one here, you won’t get passed the first clue without me,” replied Sam. 

“Uhh, ouch,” said Corey.

“That’s the spirit Samuel,” said Colby, patting Sam’s shoulder.

“And we will prove your theory wrong tomorrow, Sam,” said Jake.

“We’ll see,” replied Sam. 

The next day…

Colby pulled up at the address that he had listed. The escape room was outside of LA, in a very remote area, it looked exactly like the photo, except it was on a hill. There was no driveway so Colby just parked on the side of the road, near the staircase leading to the front door. The four boys stepped out of the car. 

“Dude, how awesome does this look?” asked Colby.

“Awesome isn’t exactly the word I would use, Colby,” answered Corey. “Looks more like the movie I saw where everyone died because they were stupid enough to go in.”

Colby looked back to Sam. “You seem tense Sam, are you scared?” he asked jokingly. 

Sam gave Colby an annoyed look. He walked up to his friend and pulled him by the arm to talk to him privately. 

“Colby, I have a bad feeling about this place,” Sam explained. “And not like the same feeling we get when we do séances or haunted places, like a genuine bad feeling. This is a bad idea.”

“Sam, you’re overthinking it,” Colby said.

“And you’re not thinking at all,” Sam replied. “I looked this place up on the way here, and you know what I found?”

“What?” asked Colby.

“Nothing, that’s the problem,” explained Sam. “Just the address and the phone number. No reviews, no other info, nothing. If this a popular escape room, why have we never heard of it? Why haven’t other people mentioned it before? Where is everyone else? We need to think rationally about this.”

“You really don’t think this is a good idea, do you?” asked Colby.

“I’m sorry, but I really think we should leave,” said Sam pleadingly. “Please trust me.”

“Ok fine,” replied Colby. “After I have some fun. Hey Corey?” He turns away from Sam to look at the brunette standing in front of him. “Sam said he dares you to go knock on the front door.”

“I never said that,” Sam replied, following behind Colby.

“We even made a bet, I don’t think you’ll do it, but Sam thinks you will,” said Colby.

“Corey don’t, Colby this isn’t funny,” said Sam worried.

“Relax Sam, he’s not gonna do it,” said Colby. “He’s too much of a little bitch.”

“I’m the little bitch, you only want me to do it because you don’t want to,” laughed Corey. 

“Fine, I’ll go do it then,” replied Colby. “I ain’t not bitch.”

“Colby stop, let’s just leave,” said Sam, grabbing Colby’s arm. Colby yanked his arm away. He grabbed his car keys from his pocket and handed them to Sam.

“You wanna leave, here you go,” said Colby handing Sam the keys. “Anyone else wanna go with him?”

“I’m a skeptic, nothing scares me,” replied Jake. 

“Ok then,” laughed Colby. “What about you Corey?”

“I dunno man, I’m telling you I’ve seen this movie before,” replied Corey.

“Ok, then you can stay here with Scaredy Cat-Sam,” laughed Colby.

“Is that really necessary?” asked Sam. 

“Sam, I’m just messing with you,” laughed Colby. “Just watch my car for me, okay?”

“You won’t last without me in there, so I’ll come, but only to save your dumb-asses,” said Sam.

“Our little Sammy is becoming a man,” sniffled Jake mockingly.

“Oh shut up,” said Sam. 

They all walked up to the front door together. Colby was the first one to knock but there was no answer and no doorbell. He knocked again, still no answer. He tried the door knob and watched as the door swung open slowly.  
They stepped into a dark lobby, with just windows and nothing else. It was covered in spider webs, they noticed all the windows had been barred shut. When they all stepped in the door shut automatically and another metal door came down after it.

“No turning back now,” said Colby.

“Wow, they really went all out with this place,” said Sam.

There was box beside them that was for keys, phones and other personal belongings, Colby went to put his phone inside. All of the others followed. Sam put his phone in but was hesitant with Colby’s keys, but he put them in.  
The box then disappeared into the wall, Sam stumbled back and all four of them watched as one of the walls in front of them opened to reveal three green doors. The doors were numbered 1, 2 and 3. The boys noticed a camera in the corner of the room, and a disguised voice came over an unseen speaker.

“Mr. Brock, Mr. Golbach, Mr. Webber, Mr. Scherer. Welcome to the Game,” the voice started.


	2. Doors

The boys turned to the corner of the room when they saw it light up, there was a small device connected to wires and explosives.

“Holy shit,” said Colby.

“Listen closely boys, you have 8 minutes to escape before that bomb goes off,” said the voice. “In front of you are 3 doors, choose the right door and the bomb will stop counting, choose the wrong one; well I think you know what happens. Your time starts now.” The boys watched as the bomb began to count down. 

“Is that a real bomb?” asked Jake.

“You really wanna stick around and find out?” replied Corey. “Colby, what the hell is this place?”

“I don’t know, I just found it online,” he answered.

“Oh my fucking god,” responded Jake, bringing his hands to his head. 

“This is the last time I ever listen to you in my life Colby,” replied Corey, panicking.

“Why the hell did we do this?” asked Jake.

“Guys, hate to cut the chatter, but we’re kind of on a time crunch here,” said Sam.

“Ok, where do we start?” asked Colby.

“Look around the room,” started Sam. “Is there anything at all that can help us?”

6 minutes left…

“Here, there’s this sentence on the wall,” said Colby, pointing to the wall of the building. Sam stepped up beside him.

3 doors before you, 2 have certain doom. Choose wisely and you continue.

“Ok, this is good,” said Sam. “Some words are bolded and some numbers are underlined. So obviously this is a clue to help us. Anything else?”

“The doors are all the same color,” responded Jake.

“Ok, so that could be connected,” said Sam.

“How do we figure it out?” asked Corey. 

“If it was that easy, it wouldn’t be an escape room,” said Colby.

4 minutes left…

“Is it possible that the numbers that are underlined correlate with the doors?” asked Jake.

“Possibly, but then, where do the words come in?” explained Sam. “No, it has to be both.”

“What about the color?” asked Corey

“I honestly don’t think the color matters,” replied Jake.

“Yea, I mean it’s just three green doors,” said Colby.

Sam cocked an eyebrow. “That’s it,” said Sam, snapping his fingers. “It’s door Number 3.”

“How the hell?” asked Jake.

“Sam, are you sure?” asked Colby.

“I’m positive,” explained Sam. “There are three words highlighted, and two numbers underlined. Three Green Doors is three words and there are three words bolded, and they all have double or two of the same letters, and two numbers are underlined. And the word “three”, also has double letters. It makes sense.”

“Should we give it a try?” asked Corey.

1 minute left…

“Do it,” said Colby.

Sam approached door #3 and turned the knob hesitantly. When it clicked he slowly opened it. They all turned to face the bomb, it stopped counting with 45 seconds to spare. They all let out a sigh of relief. Sam slowly swung the door open, it led to a dark room. He stepped through, followed by Colby and Corey. Jake was the last one to enter and he noticed it was very quiet and it was pitch black. He suddenly felt something pierce his neck, but he collapsed before he could determine what or who had struck him.


	3. Chained

When Jake stirred awake, he slowly opened his eyes. He was alone, none of his friends were in sight. There were 3 more doors in front of him, of random colors. Jake didn’t have to wait long for an explanation before the voice came back over the speaker.

“Congratulations, you chose the right door,” started the voice. “Onto the next puzzle. I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are a few people missing. They are currently on the other side of those doors.”

Colby was the first of the other three to wake up. He tried to move, but blue shackles had his hands secured to the wall. He looked beside him to see Sam and Corey in the same position. Sam was currently held with yellow shackles and Corey with red. They all tried to break free, but it was no use, there was no escaping. The looked across the room and saw a clock that read 5:00. 

A panel soon revealed itself to Jake. There was currently a maze leading to 3 keys, one blue key, one yellow key and one red key. 

“Listen closely, Mr. Webber,” began the voice. “Your friends are currently chained up in the next room. Mr. Brock is in blue, Mr. Golbach is in yellow and Mr. Scherer is in red. You have approximately 5 minutes before the deadly gas I release in the next room becomes lethal and those doors lock. Each key has a different path that you must follow in order for it to come loose. You pick the key, find the path and that person will be free. Your time starts now.”

The small holes in the wall next door started to blow a clear gas into the room. Colby, Sam and Corey began coughing instantly, every minute was crucial. 

Jake studied the maze of keys very closely and began with red. He worked the key around the maze and eventually found a path, he carefully worked the red key through the tricky path, once he found the end, he heard a click. 

2 minutes gone… 

In the next room, Corey’s shackles became loose, he attempted to look for some way to free Sam and Colby, but he saw no way. 

“Corey,” coughed Sam. “Go, go.”

Corey hesitated but eventually made his way towards the door on his side, his hand covering his mouth and nose. He opened the door and saw Jake currently working on the blue key. The path for the blue key was slightly easier. He hurriedly worked the blue key to its finish and heard another click. Colby was free. 

1 minute left...

Colby’s shackles opened with a click, he instantly brought his hand to his mouth, and rushed to Sam’s side, but Sam shook his head. Colby wasn’t as determined to leave; it was only Sam’s persistence that finally urged him through the next door. 

20 seconds left…

Colby and Corey watched as Jake worked the last key down its path. Darting between him and the clock that was counting down every second. 

10…9…8

The yellow key made its last turn and finally Jake heard the final click. Sam’s shackles opened and he groggily made his way to the final door. He made it through, just as the clock reached the final second.

Jake stepped back with a sigh of relief, catching his breath, when he felt someone drag him by his collar, he was thrown against the wall by an enraged Colby.

“Why the hell did you take so long to release Sam?!” screamed Colby.

“Colby, what the hell, get off of him,” said Sam, attempting to calm him down.

“Hey, I saved you guys didn’t I?” replied Jake.

“Just barely,” said Colby, his fists clenching around Jakes collar.

“I saved Sam last because it was the smartest thing to do,” replied Jake.

“Oh, how so?” asked Colby, still fuming. 

“When I studied that maze of keys, it was Sam who had the easiest path,” started Jake. “Because Corey had the most difficult, it made the most sense to start with his key and make my way around to the easiest, so that if we had seconds to spare, the last key would be easy, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Colby forcefully let go of Jake’s jacket. “Well the next time you decide to gamble with lives, make sure one of them is your own,” said Colby. 

“Translation,” continued Jake. “Sam’s life is more important than mine or Corey’s.”

“I never said that,” retorted Colby angrily.

“You didn’t have to,” replied Corey. “Nice to know what your priorities are if it comes down to you saving us, at least we know Sam will make it out alive.”

“That’s not fair!” shouted Colby.

“Oh yea, tell us we’re wrong!” screamed Jake.

“Guys, stop!” yelled Sam. “You guys arguing isn’t helping our situation. Whatever you have to sort out, you can sort it out later, when we’re out of here. Right now, we all need to stay focused or we’re screwed. Alright?”

“Fine by me,” said Jake, crossing his arms. 

“Ditto,” replied Corey.

“Whatever,” said Colby.

There was an awkward silence between the group, but that silence was eventually broken by a large panel in the wall opening up. Sam stepped through first, with Colby and the rest following after him. They were in another practically empty room. Waiting on their instructions. 

The voice came on again. “Welcome to Round 3,” it said.


	4. Six Feet Under

The next room was an empty circular room, with three TV screens. The boys quickly gathered around them, as images of Tara, Kat and Devyn flashed on the screen. The voice returned.

“Wow,” said the voice. “I must say, Mr. Golbach, Mr. Webber, Mr. Scherer, you three have beautiful girlfriends.”

“What did you do to them?!!” yelled Sam.

This time it was three videos that came on the screens, coming from three coffins, buried underground. All three of the girls were audibly crying and screaming. The videos only flashed for a second before the screens went blank.

“What the hell man?!!!” shouted Corey.

“Your girls are currently buried six feet underground, they have oxygen, but that will run out in approximately six minutes,” continued the voice. “Mr. Brock, you have a very important task ahead of you. Step through this door.”

All four watched as a door across the room opened. Colby walked towards the door. He stopped when he heard Sam’s worried voice.

“Colby,” said Sam, as Colby turned to face him. “Whatever he has planned for you in there, please be smart about this, for all their sakes, okay?”

“Easy for you to say,” said Corey angrily stepping closer to Sam. “Either way he’s gonna save your girl first.”

“Back off Corey, now’s not the time,” replied Colby. 

“Why don’t you fucking make me?” said Corey, stepping up close to him. 

“Are you forgetting that Devyn’s life is currently in my hands?” said Colby threateningly.

“How fucking dare you?” replied Jake, getting in Colby’s face. “Are you forgetting that you’re the reason we’re in here?” 

“What do you want me to say, Jake?!!” screamed Colby. “That I’m sorry? I am, okay, but what do you want me to do about it?”

“You better fucking save them,” replied Jake. 

“Fucking watch me,” said Colby. He marched through the door as it shut tightly behind him. 

“If you fail, their blood is on your hands Colby,” Jake screamed after him. 

A single light flickered on in the room to reveal a map in front of Colby. There was also a small table with a jar of thumb tacks sitting on it There were strange markings on the wall. 

“All three of these girls are currently buried in different locations around California,” said the voice. “The clues to their locations are written in code. Decipher the codes, figure out the clues and you’ll save them, you have 6 minutes before their oxygen tanks go dry. Your time starts now.” 

“Ok, Ok, focus,” said Colby under his breath. “Decipher the codes first, locations second.”

There were 3 different words scrambled on the wall. He assumed each word would reveal a clue to the location. 

WDSAHO AMN OHLALEWEN OKKCN KOKCN

“If I wanted to hide Devyn, where would it be?” said Colby. “Probably some place important to Corey, or maybe, not important but significant.” He studied the word one more time.

“SHADOW MAN. The first word is Shadow Man,” said Colby. “Which means this is Devyn’s location, cause the Shadow Man is specific to Corey. In our latest series, we went to the…that’s it, The Biltmore Hotel, we went there in Corey’s hometown of Florida, but there’s also one in LA. Devyn is at the Biltmore Hotel.” He marked the map with the location of The Biltmore. 

Back in the previous room, the TV screens had come back on, along with the timer, counting down the precious minutes. Corey watched as two people in masks began to dig up Devyn’s coffin. 

“Thank you Jesus,” said Corey. Sam and Jake both looked at each other. Wondering which one was gonna be next. 

5 minutes…

“Ok, what would be significant to Sam?” asked Colby. “Think, think. Something about exploring, a haunted place maybe, but which one? The one that impacted him the most was…where we heard knocks. KNOCK KNOCK. Queen Mary. Katrina’s at The Queen Mary.” He then marked Long Beach, CA on the map of California. 

Sam crouched down as he watched as Katrina was dug up. Thankful that she was okay, but he could feel the anger radiating off of Jake. Sam was praying that Colby was able to save Tara as well, or things would get very ugly.

2 minutes…

“Ok, last one, Tara,” said Colby. “Jake is a skeptic, so you wouldn’t think a haunted place would have significance to him, but the other two locations were both haunted, so it only makes sense to stay with the haunted theme. I know that word is HALLOWEEN, but that could mean anything. What’s important about this date?” Then it came to him.

“The couple who died on the picnic table in Griffith Park, died on Halloween,” said Colby. “And Jake was with us when we went, Tara is in Griffith Park.” He marked the final location on the map. Jake watched as Tara was dug up with 1 minute to go. 

“Congratulations Mr. Brock,” said the voice. “You’ve saved them all.”

Colby let out the massive breath he had been holding the entire time. Thankful that this experience was over, thinking about what more this psycho could put them through. He heard a click behind him as the door from before opened, leading into the room he was previously in. He walked out and was met with a death glare from Jake Webber. 

“Tell me, Colby, did you save Tara last just to spite me or did you know you’d have enough time?” asked Jake angrily.

“What if I did?” replied Colby. “Not so fun gambling with lives when it’s your girlfriend, is it Jake?”

“You son of a bitch!!” screamed Jake. 

Jake charged at Colby, who was met with a punch to the face. Colby then pounced on Jake. They were both bleeding from their noses, and continued to hit each other. Colby kept going until Jake’s face was covered in blood. Colby tasted metal as blood from his nose ran down his face. Corey and Sam desperately tried to pry them off of each other and were finally able to.

“Colby, calm the fuck down, you’re gonna kill him!” shouted Sam, pushing him away.

“Do you feel better now Colby?!” shouted Jake. “Does it feel better to take the anger towards yourself out on someone else?”

“Fuck you Jake!” replied Colby. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you guys!?!” screamed Sam. “Look at us, we’re at each other’s throats! Your falling for his game, all of you, it’s becoming more about sport and less about escaping. This is what he wants.”

“But Colby-,” started Jake.

“I know what he did, Jake!” shouted Sam. “But you both need to put that behind you, and get your shit together, or else we will never get out of here. And if you wanna be responsible for that, be my guest, just don’t drag Corey and I down with you.”

“Sam,” said Colby. 

“C’mon, let’s just go,” replied Sam, walking towards the next door. His friends followed silently behind.


	5. Finish Line

The next door led to a room with four sets of bars going across the ceiling to the other side. When they stepped through, they looked below them down into a dark pit and stepped back when they heard hissing below them. 

“Are those venomous snakes?” asked Corey.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say probably,” replied Sam.

“Listen up boys, we’re going to have a little race,” said the voice. “Each of you is going pick a set of bars and race to the other side. You have one minute to get across. If you’re the last one across, I drop you. No puzzle here, just pure competition, because you all seem to be a fan of that.” Jake and Colby both looked at each other.

“Good luck,” replied the voice. “And may the best man win.”

“Great,” said Corey. “Now he’s purposely pitting us against each other, as if we weren’t already doing a good job of it ourselves.”

“No,” replied Colby.

“What did you say Colby?” asked Corey, looking over to him.

“I said no,” he repeated. “Sam is right, it’s becoming a sport, this is tearing us apart, and I for one, am sick of it.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked Sam.

“We each pick a set, and go across at the exact same time,” replied Colby. “In sync with one another, so we all finish at the same time. Think that’s possible, Sam?”

Sam thought for a minute. “If we time it right, yea it could work?” he said.

“But isn’t that against the rules?” asked Jake. “What if he drops us all?”

“He could,” said Colby. “But then his game would be over, and something tells me we have a couple more rounds to go.”

“Okay then,” said Sam. Colby nodded to him.

“Corey?” asked Colby.

“Let’s do it,” replied Corey.

“Jake, what do you say?” asked Colby. Jake looked over at Colby with a questioning look in his eyes. Colby could see the wheels turning in his head, trying to decide whether or not to trust him.

“Only if I get to count it,” replied Jake.

“Sure,” replied Colby.

“Okay, everybody grab hold,” said Jake. They all tightly grabbed the first bar in front of them, trying to ignore the hissing coming from below them. The time instantly started.

1 minute…

“We swing on three, okay?” said Jake. They all nodded.

“One, two, three,” counted Jake. They all reached for the next bar. “One, two, three.” They were all moving in sync, following Jakes count. 

They were almost across. They watched as the clock read 30 seconds. A snake struck up towards Colby, causing him to slip on the next bar, nearly losing his hold.

“Colby, you good?” asked Jake concerned.

“Yea, I’m good,” said Colby reassuringly. 

“Good. We need to speed up,” replied Jake. “We’re gonna go faster, ready? Three. And Three. And Three.”

10…9…8

“Three. Three. Three,” said Jake. 

5…4…3

“Last one, we got this guys, okay” said Jake reassuringly. They all nodded to him. “And…three.” They swung themselves off at the next side, steadying themselves on each other when they jumped down. They watched as the clock read 0:00. 

“Fuck yea,” shouted Corey happily. 

“Not bad Jake,” said Colby.

“Not bad yourself,” he replied, playfully punching Colby’s arm.

“I’m sorry,” said Colby.

“Me too,” said Jake.

“We cool?” asked Colby.

“We’re cool,” said Jake. 

“Great, now that we’re all back on the same page, let’s finish this,” said Sam. They walked into the next room. It appeared to be empty, but they had gotten far enough to know that an empty room was never actually empty in this place. 

“Bold move, Mr. Brock,” said the voice. “I’m impressed. There may be hope for you yet.”

“We don’t break that easily,” answered Colby.

“We’ll see,” replied the voice. “Onto the next challenge.”


	6. The Chalices

“This next challenge only requires two of you,” explained the voice. “Mr. Golbach and Mr. Brock, please step through this door.”

“And what if we don’t?” asked Colby.

“It’s your only way out, so that’s up to you,” replied the voice.

“What about Jake and Corey?” asked Sam. 

“They will stay exactly where they are,” replied the voice. “I promise you no harm will come to them as long as you follow my rules.”

Both of them stepped towards the open door. Jake and Corey watched as they disappeared. Sam and Colby were in a small candle lit room, similar to a setting where they had done many séances together. They looked to the center of the room and saw a table with two silver chalices sitting on it. 

“Step up to the table please, boys,” the voice said. Both Sam and Colby stood at opposite ends of the table facing each other, as the voice explained the rules.

“I’m sure you’ve seen this challenge before, so you know what happens,” started the voice. “Each of you has a chalice in front of you. Both of these chalices are the same in every way. The only difference, is that one contains a poison. You must figure out which one contains the poison and then one of you must drink it. Only one of you. I’ll leave the rest to you boys, I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure this one out.”

“What do we do Sam?” asked Colby, looking across to the blond.

“Right now, let’s just play along and figure out which chalice has the poison,” said Sam. “There has to be a way.”

“What about the second part?” asked Colby.

Sam looked at Colby with uncertainty. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” replied Sam, sending Colby a small smile. Colby smiled back. 

Both sat in silence, studying the chalices, trying to notice anything that would give them any indication of which chalice was the poisoned one, Sam glanced over at Colby, who noticed his gaze. 

“What’s up?” asked Colby.

“Nothing,” replied Sam. “It’s just, I think this is the longest time I’ve ever seen you think in your life.” 

Colby chuckled. “Fuck you,” he replied with a smile. Sam chuckled back.

“I’m really sorry, Sam,” continued Colby. “I know this is all my fault.”

“Nothing we can do about it now,” replied Sam. “And don’t sweat it. I know you’re sorry.”

“Thank you for coming,” said Colby.

“No problem,” replied Sam. They went back to studying the chalices. They thought they would never find the answer. Then Sam spoke up. 

“Of course,” replied Sam. “If we pour all the liquid into one chalice, we will know for sure which one has the poison.”

Colby smiled happily. “You always were the genius,” he replied.

Sam grabbed Colby’s chalice and poured all of the liquid into his own. He then slowly brought it up to his lips when he felt Colby tightly grab his wrist. 

“What the hell are you doing?!!” cried Colby.

“I’m the one who’s gonna drink this Colby,” replied Sam.

“Like hell you are!” said Colby.

“You think it should be you?” asked Sam.

“Well, it definitely shouldn’t be you,” replied Colby. 

Sam set the chalice back on the table. “We’re gonna be arguing about this all night, aren’t we?” he asked. 

“Yea, probably,” replied Colby. “It has to be me Sam, I’m the whole reason we’re even here right now, I should’ve listened to you.”

“You’re right, you should have,” started Sam. “But that doesn’t mean you deserve to die.”

“Sam, please let me do this,” said Colby softly. “Ever since the day we’ve met, you’ve done   
everything for me, and expected nothing. You were always there for me, even if sometimes I   
wasn’t there for you. Let me do this for you, please?”

“That’s not fair Colby,” said Sam. “Your life has just as much purpose as mine, and don’t ever   
talk like that, you’ve always been there for me too.”

“You’re the one who needs to continue,” said Colby. “We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”

“Are you kidding?” said Sam. “That stunt you pulled back there was brilliant, you outsmarted him. That took guts.”

“I always was the gutsy one,” said Colby smirking. 

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” laughed Sam. 

“Sam, please,” pleaded Colby. “It’s only fair if I do this, you never wanted any of this.”

“What about us, our future, the fans?” asked Sam. 

“Tell them the truth, and then keep going,” replied Colby. “Keep our channel alive, keep   
exploring, and keep doing what you love. Sam and Colby vs The World.”

Sam smiled. “Sam and Colby vs The World,” he repeated. Colby grabbed the chalice and brought it to his lips.

“Colby, wait,” said Sam. “Before you…you know, can I at least give you a hug, say good-bye?”

“Of course,” replied Colby. He walked around to the other end of the table and wrapped Sam in his arms. 

“I love you, bro,” said Colby.

“I love you too,” replied Sam. “And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what-” Colby’s eyes turned wide as he was spun around into a choke hold. Sam squeezed his arms around Colby’s neck, not enough to kill him, but to temporarily knock him out.

“Sam,” choked Colby. “What are you doing?”

Sam brought his mouth close to Colby’s ear. “You’ll make it out, Colby. All of you. Tell Kat and my family that I love them,” and then Sam watched as Colby’s body went limp, he layed him gently on the ground. 

Sam grabbed the chalice and drank all the liquid inside of it. At first he didn’t feel anything, then his throat started to go dry. Sam started to feel the impact as his body went numb and his vision went blurry. The last thing he remembered was falling to the floor, the numb feeling in his body and the clang of the metal chalice on the floor when it dropped from his hand, as darkness enveloped his body.


	7. Catacombs

Colby woke up minutes later to his body being shaken awake. It took a minute for his vision to become clear. Once it did, he realized he was looking up into the eyes of Jake Webber. 

Colby sat up and rubbed his neck lightly, he looked around the room, suddenly remembering what had happened. He looked behind him to see Corey attempting to wake Sam. Colby quickly rushed to his best friend’s side, startling Corey so much that he stood up and backed away. Colby knelt down and stared at Sam, his blue eyes were open but you could see that all the life was drained from them. 

“No, no, no, Sam,” he said as he started shaking his friend, although he knew there was no use.

“Wake up Sam, please, please!” yelled Colby, still shaking Sam’s body, the tears starting to form in his eyes. “Please wake up! Why the fuck would you do this? Fuck you!!! How could you do this to me, Sam?” Colby brought his fist down to the floor, smashing it hard. 

He only stopped when he was pulled to his feet by Jake, in fear of him hurting himself, he pulled Colby into a hug, as Colby screamed into his shoulder. 

When Colby had calmed down, he sat with his back against the wall, next to Sam, just looking at him in silence, with tear stained eyes. Thinking about everything. Jake and Corey explained that they had seen the whole situation unfold on a small screen in the previous room. 

It had been a long time before a door finally opened to the next challenge. All three of them looked towards it, Jake and Corey looked back at Colby. Corey walked over to him and knelt down to his eye level.

“Look, I know that there is nothing we can say to make you feel better,” started Corey. “But, if you wanna finish this, we’re with you, Jake and I are ready.”

“It should’ve been me, Corey,” said Colby sadly. “It was supposed to be me. He knew this was a bad idea, and all I did was tease him. He only came to look out for us and look where it got him. You were right Jake; I hate myself for bringing you all into this. I decided to take that anger out on you guys instead of myself. You’re in here because of me, because I forced you.”

“You didn’t force anyone Colby, we chose to come, for you,” explained Jake.

“Yea dude, we weren’t about to let you go alone,” continued Corey.

“Colby, you can’t let this break you, it’s what he wants,” said Jake, putting a hand on Colby’s shoulder. “I know it will be hard, but you need to be strong.”

Colby looked over at Sam’s lifeless body, one last time. “We keep going, all three of us,” said Colby. “We’re making it out, I promise.”

Corey extended his hand for Colby. Colby grabbed his hand and stood up. He headed for the door, a new look of determination in his eyes. Jake and Corey followed. 

When they walked through the next door, there were three tunnels waiting for them on the other side, it didn’t look like they were in a house anymore, it looked more like underground.   
Colby wasn’t having it, he spoke up; anger, frustration and sadness laced in his voice.

“C’mon you bastard!!” he started, looking around the room, waiting for the voice. “Give it to me, I’m ready!!!”

“You seem agitated Mr. Brock,” the voice suddenly spoke up.

Colby clenched his fists. “Look, I don’t know who the fuck you are, but mark my words, when I find you, I’m gonna end you!!!” he said forcefully. 

“Good luck with that,” replied the voice. “Now onto the final challenge.”

Colby was done with this person’s taunts. He was more determined than ever to prove this guy wrong and make him pay for what he had done.

They were in the catacombs, probably beneath the house. Jake and Corey stepped up beside Colby. Studying the tunnels closely, knowing it was gonna be beneficial to them. They noticed a sentence written above the three tunnels, in bold silver letters.

The Path to Freedom is in front of you, but do you truly deserve it?

“Congratulations on making it this far boys, you’re almost there, almost free,” said the voice. “For this next task, simply make your way through the catacomb tunnels. At the end you will find a door, that is the exit. You must all choose a different tunnel, but be sure you choose the right path.”

“That’s it,” replied Colby unimpressed. “No time limit, no puzzles.”

“Not this time,” replied the voice. “Just don’t stray from the path.”

“Wow, that was so helpful,” said Corey sarcastically. 

“I don’t like it,” said Jake. “Seems too easy.”

“Then we need to be ready for anything,” replied Colby. “Ok guys, huddle up.” They all huddle together, arms around each other.

“This is it,” said Colby. “Sam said we would make it, he knew it, let’s make sure we do, be careful, be smart and we’ll make it out. I love you guys.”

“Love you too bro,” said Jake.

“Love you guys too,” replied Corey.

All three of them lined up in front of the dimly lit tunnels. They turned to each other one last time before entering. 

Colby walked slowly, keeping his guard up, knowing at this point that it couldn’t possibly be that easy. The path in his tunnel was mostly straight, he only came to a turn every once in a while, this same pattern continued on for most of the way. 

He suddenly saw a different light up ahead; it was a door. He was hesitant to approach it, although he really had no other choice. 

When he reached the door, he slowly reached for the knob, but was interrupted when a screen above the door flickered on. He was met with a person, but he couldn’t see their face, it was covered with a white mask that had a blank stare and the rest of them was covered by a black hoodie. 

“Hello Mr. Brock,” said the person on the TV. Colby recognized their voice as the same one that he had been hearing throughout the entire night. He had found him.

“What the hell is this?” asked Colby.

“The final test,” the voice replied.


	8. One Final Test

“I told you I’d find you,” replied Colby.

“Yes, you did,” said the voice. “You’re very persistent.”

“What do you want?” asked Colby. 

He watched as the picture on the screen above switched from a close up to a full body shot. The person in the mask was strapped to a chair by their hands and chest. They also had several wires connected to them. Colby watched as a piece of the stone wall in front of him disappeared to reveal a switch that had the word DANGER written on it.

“As you can see Mr. Brock, I’m currently strapped to an electric chair,” said the person. “You’ve got me right where you want me.” Colby stared the man down, trying to figure him out, he didn’t understand what was happening.

“You can flip the switch and kill me,” said the person. “I won’t blame you, I won’t stop you, no one will ever know, it’s your decision and after that, you can leave.”

“Why would you let me kill you?” asked Colby.

“Because I needed to reward you, for making it this far, I’m giving you what you wanted,” explained the voice. “You wanted your revenge Mr. Brock, go ahead, take it.”

Colby looked at the switch in front of him. He gripped the handle of the switch, ready to flip it. He left his hand there, wanting to pull it, wanting his revenge, but he retreated, pulling his hand back.

“No,” says Colby sternly. “Even after everything you put us through, it’s not worth it.”

The masked man said nothing. He just stared at him in what Colby assumed could only be confusion. 

“Sam died so I could live,” said Colby. “If I killed you, it would be an act of revenge and trust me I want it, but it would ruin me, and that’s not what Sam would’ve wanted. He wanted me to keep living my life, and this would ruin it, so no, even though I want to, I won’t, because otherwise he died for nothing. I’m better than that. We can all be better than that.”

There was complete silence. Colby was worried he had said something wrong, when suddenly the voice spoke up again.

“Well, well, well,” said the voice surprised. “I guess I was wrong about you three.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Colby. 

Colby watched as the metal cuffs restraining the man to the electric chair clicked, releasing him. He then quickly pulled off his mask. Colby couldn’t believe his eyes when he revealed himself.

“Sam?” said Colby shocked. He watched as Sam’s confused form stood from the chair and walked off camera. The door in front of him suddenly opened and he locked eyes with Sam. 

“Colby,” said Sam.

“Oh my god, Sam,” said Colby rushing to wrap Sam in his arms. The blond happily accepted.

“Congratulations, Mr. Brock,” replied the voice. “You’ve passed, you’re free.”

“I thought you were dead,” replied Colby, trying to hold back tears.

“I did too, for a second there,” said Sam. “Thought for sure you were gonna flip that switch.”

“I’m glad I didn’t,” replied Colby. “What the hell happened?”

“The last thing I remember was drinking from the chalice and then blacking out,” explained Sam. “I woke up later strapped to a chair but I had a mask on, so I couldn’t see what was happening. But I heard what that guy said to you.”

“Damn,” said Colby.

“I know, this shit is so messed up,” said Sam.

“Do you think we’re actually free?” asked Colby.

“We are, look,” said Sam. He stepped aside to reveal the entrance to the house, where the boys had begun their night. Colby could see his car still parked on the side of the road. 

He also saw Corey and Jake, waiting by the top of the staircase. The ran to greet each other when they saw one another. Jake had all of their phones and Colby’s keys. He did a double take when he saw Sam.

“What the-?” said Jake. “Sam, you’re alive!!”

“Alive and kicking,” replied Sam smiling. 

“How?” asked Corey.

“Guess the poison I drank wasn’t fast acting. Apparently all it took was some antidote,” replied Sam.

“Well, it’s good to see you, bro,” said Corey.

“You too,” said Sam. He then turned to Colby. “I don’t understand. Did you know it was me under there, is that why you chose not to kill him?” 

“No, I had no idea it was you, but if I decided to flip that switch, he won,” explained Colby. “I knew what he was doing, he wanted to prove a point, and I wasn’t about to let him win.”

“Wait, he gave Corey and I the same decision too,” explained Jake. “But we didn’t do it.”

“Good thing too,” replied Sam thankfully. 

“What was the point of all this?” asked Jake.

“I think he wanted us to show our true selves,” said Colby. “He wanted us to reveal who we truly are in there. Almost like he wanted us to prove to ourselves and to him that we were worth saving. I guess in his eyes, we proved that we’re good people. Worthy of freedom.”

“So all of this was just some big test to prove ourselves?” said Corey. “Kind of a sick way to do it if you ask me.”

“But why get rid of Sam?” asked Jake.

“Because Sam is the rational one,” explained Colby. “He stepped in when we were arguing, warned us about coming, and solved most of the clues. I guess for that psycho, that was enough proof, he wanted to see how us three could do without him. See if we were still worthy.”

“Damn bro,” sighed Jake. 

“What about people who he doesn’t think are worthy?” asked Corey.

“I don’t know,” said Jake. “And honestly, I’d rather not think about it.”

“Guys,” started Colby. “About everything that happened in there?”

“Save it dude,” replied Jake. “The important thing is that it all worked out in the end.”

“Yea, thank god,” said Colby. 

“Who gave that psycho permission to play judge, jury, executioner anyway?” asked Sam. 

“We don’t even know who he is,” said Colby. “And I think he’s gonna keep it that way.”

“I mean, apart from the death traps, it wasn’t all bad,” said Corey. “Next time we do an escape room I think we stand a pretty good chance.”

“Colby, what time is it?” asked Sam.

Colby pulled out his phone. “Uh, it’s 5:30 am,” he replied.

Sam laughed. “You’re right Corey, we do stand a pretty good chance,” he said, “considering it took us 11 and half hours to escape.”

“And I personally don’t think I’ll be doing another escape room anytime soon,” replied Colby.

“Me neither,” said Jake. 

“So what now?” asked Sam.

“We should probably call the police,” said Corey.

“That sounds like a plan,” replied Colby. 

“And get food,” added Jake.

“Another good idea,” replied Sam. When they reached Colby’s car, they all stopped to look back at the house.

“Let’s never do anything like that ever again,” replied Sam.

“I promise I will trust your gut feeling next time,” said Colby.

The four boys piled into the car, and drove away, leaving their experience behind. It had been scarring for all of them, but it had also, in some messed up way, taught them an important lesson about life.


	9. Without A Trace

Things were quiet back at the Trap House for a while. Everyone was still reeling from the experience. Sam, Corey and Jake had all been spending an unhealthy amount of time with their girlfriends, but with good reason. The experience had taken a different toll on all of them. The four of them were all sitting in the kitchen when Colby’s phone rang.

“Hello?” he said.

“Hello, is this Colby Brock?” asked the woman on the other end.

“Yes it is,” he replied.

“Hello Colby, this is Officer Kelly from the LAPD,” she responded. “I was just calling to give you a follow-up on the residence your reported last week.”

“Oh great,” replied Colby. He put his phone on speaker and gestured for everyone to gather around it. 

“We wanted to inform you that the address you gave us is inactive,” she explained. “We sent a team out to the house and it was abandoned, we searched the place up and down, we didn’t find anything. It was completely empty. Also, there are currently no owners of that residence, it’s completely deserted. We wanted to ask if there was anything else you wanted to report on it, if you had a description of someone, or if there was anything else at all that you wanted us to investigate?”

“I don’t understand,” responded Colby. “You didn’t find anything out there?”

“No, we didn’t,” she replied. “Nothing of importance anyway, I mean the house is basically falling apart, there wasn’t much to scavenge. Was there something you were hoping we would find?”

“Uh, no,” he said. “I’m sorry, that was my mistake, thank you for your help officer.”

“No problem,” she said. “Don’t hesitate to call us if you have any more questions or if there is anything else you need.”

“Thank you, good-bye,” said Colby. He then hung up his phone.

“Dude, what the hell?” asked Sam.

“I have no idea,” said Colby.

“Is it possible that the person doing all of this wasn’t on the property and was doing it from somewhere else?” asked Jake.

“Could be,” said Sam.

“But what about all the rooms, his minions, all the death traps?” asked Jake.

“Who knows,” said Colby. “Maybe we started and ended in that house, but everything else was some secret location.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” said Corey.

“Guess not,” replied Jake. 

“Well Sam,” said Colby. “This will definitely be one XPLR adventure that will go down in history.”

“We didn’t even film it,” said Sam.

“You’re right,” said Colby. “This one’s not for the fans, this one was meant for just us four.”

“So you’re not gonna tell them?” asked Corey.

“I’m sure we will someday,” said Colby. “But not now, we need some time, like we did with Queen Mary.”

“Yea, for now, we’ll just keep it between us,” continued Sam.

“That’s probably best,” said Jake.

“You think that person will ever pop up again?” asked Corey.

“I don’t know,” said Colby. 

They all sat at the in the kitchen, thinking about their experience and about how it almost didn’t feel real. But just like when they were trapped inside that house, or wherever it was, there was nothing they could about it, for now.   
So they continued on with their lives, living everyday like nothing happened, but always making sure to never let anything come between them, to always listen to each other, to trust each other, to talk things out and to never take anything or anyone for granted ever again.


End file.
